The present invention relates to printers and more particularly to printers adapted for printing paper sheet provided on rolls.
Printers adapted for printing paper sheet provided on rolls are used for printing a sequence of printing jobs. The length of paper web required for the total of printing jobs input in the printer will not be matched by the length of the paper web present on the roll. As a consequence, the printer will still be busy performing a printing job when the end of the paper web approaches the print head.
Known printers are provided with a sensor for detecting the end of the paper web and with controlling means for stopping the print head when the paper end web has been detected. The sensor is located at a location between the roll and a first set of paper web driving rolls. A further drive/press roll assembly is arranged directly upstream from the printing station.
After the printer has been stopped the printer must be made ready again for continuing the printing jobs, for which a new roll of paper web has been arranged in the printer (or a second roll already present in the printer is used) and the leading end of the new paper web is fed through the driving rolls and up to the printing station for resuming printing. Before the new paper web can be introduced, the old paper web still present in the printer must be removed from the printer. The old paper web can be conveyed further by the drive/press roll until the end edge has passed that roll. The operator then has to take the end portion from the printer table. This requires special attendance of the operator. In any event, the presence of an operator is required, which makes it impossible to operate the printer in a fully unattended mode for extended periods of use. An object of the present invention is to address this problem.